Sunderland travel away from home this evening as they take on Luton Town at Kenilworth Road with the chance to progress through to the play-off final.
The Black Cats will guarantee a place at Wembley, where they will face Coventry or Middlesbrough, if they can avoid defeat after winning 2-1 in the first leg at the Stadium of Light last Saturday.
Amad Diallo and Trai Hume scored the goals against the Hatters in the first leg as Tony Mowbray’s side were able to come from 1-0 down to secure the win.
Whilst Sunderland were able to come away with the victory against Rob Edwards’ side at home, the manager may opt for a more defensive approach in the second leg to avoid leaving themselves too open at the back, in order to protect the lead.
Will Abdoullah Ba start against Luton?
Mowbray must decide to unleash central midfielder Abdoullah Ba from the start ahead of the attack-minded Alex Pritchard this evening.
The Frenchman has won 64% of his aerial contests, compared to Pritchard’s woeful 9%, in the Championship this season and adding his immense physical presence to the midfield could increase Sunderland’s chances of dealing with any potential aerial bombardments from the opposition as they fight to get back into the tie, particularly after they conceded from a cross in the first leg.
Ba has averaged more aerials won, blocks, and clearances per 90 than the Englishman over the last 365 days in the second tier, which indicates that the 19-year-old has more to offer to the team out of possession.
The teenager, who was once described as a “pearl” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, would also be a better option than Edouard Michut, who was the other midfielder on the bench on Saturday.
Ba has averaged more of the aforementioned defensive actions than the Frenchman and Michut has lost a whopping 65% of his aerial duels in the Championship, which suggests like Pritchard he would be dominated in the air.
However, the ex-Le Havre midfielder also offers quality in possession. Journalist Josh Bunting described him as “brilliant to watch” and the ace ranks in the top 10% of midfielders in his position in Europe’s next eight leagues (after the top five) over the last 365 days in progressive carries and successful take-ons.
Along with his excellent defensive work, this means that Ba can carry the ball up the pitch by beating opposition players with his dribbling ability which could allow him to then play passes to the likes of Amad and Jack Clarke in dangerous positions in the final third.
As such, it is clear that Mowbray needs to unleash the youngster in place of Pritchard tonight.
